Announcement for the opening of an international proposal to a PhD to work on calibration and on-ground correction algorithms for the PLATO space mission for the PLATO space mission.

The Centre national d’études spatiales (CNES) and the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPSSR, Göttingen, Germany) open an international call for a 3-year PhD position addressing the calibration and on-ground correction algorithms for the PLATO space mission.
The research work will be carried out half of the time at LESIA – Observatoire de Paris (France) and the second half at the MPSSR in Göttingen.

Starting date: –
Application until: –
Where: LESIA – Observatoire de Paris (France) & Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (Göttingen)
Duration of the contract: 3 year (full-time employment)
PhD supervisor: Réza SAMADI

Activities

This thesis proposes to study in detail the phenomena that affect CCD and accurately quantify their impact on the photometry. The goal is to develop the best algorithms for calibration and data correction (imagettes and light curves) in order to optimize the scientific return of the mission. These algorithms will be developed based on feedback from the CoRoT (2006-2012), Kepler (2009-2012) and TESS (2018-) space missions, while taking into account the specificities of the PLATO mission.
In the context of the WP32 (component of the Plato Data Center, PDC), the thesis work will address the fundamental problems related to the processing of raw data from acquired with CCDs (in general and in the case of PLATO in particular). 
To carry out their work, the PhD student will have at her/his disposal the PLATOSim simulator which models each telescope and their spatial environment. She/he will also have at her/his disposal experimental measurements carried out on an optical bench with CCDs representative of flight CCDs.

Profile’s requirements 

The candidate must have a master’s degree in physics, preferably in instrumentation or astronomy / astrophysics.

How to apply 

The applications must be submitted online.

Contacts

More information can be found in the Job Announcement. or contacting:

• Réza Samadi, LESIA – Observatoire de Paris, reza.samadi@obspm.fr
• Aaron Birch, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, birch@mps.mpg.de